The government is considering a flexible reception arrangement for Russian reservists fleeing here to avoid military service in Ukraine. This year, 328 Russians have already applied for asylum in the Netherlands.
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Russian men who have been called to fight in Ukraine and try to flee Russia have not yet reported in large numbers in the Netherlands. “At least not in the numbers we notice,” says a spokesperson for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). The service takes into account that they can also “simply end up in the Netherlands”.
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In the first eight months of this year, 328 Russians applied for asylum in our country, a much higher figure than in previous years. In all last year there were 260 and in the “crown year” 2020 – when traveling was less easy – 180 Russian citizens applied for asylum in the Netherlands. The IND recorded a spike in the number of asylum applications, especially shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in March (83), April (68) and May (56) more Russians applied for asylum than in the past two months (21).
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Russian conscripts
Among the Russian asylum applications is a group for which Secretary of State Eric van der Burg (Asylum, VVD) entered into a special agreement in June for Russian conscripts, Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27 years that have been called up for military service. Conscripts who defect are also covered by the plan, professional soldiers are not. Since a conscientious objector is awaiting imprisonment upon his return to Russia, that group is allowed to remain in the Netherlands at least until the end of this year.
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Van der Burg has announced a moratorium on this, which happens more often when the situation in a country is unpredictable and uncertain. The decision on the application and expulsion of this group is then put on “pause”. The IND was unable to determine yesterday how many of the 328 asylum applications fall into the conscript pool.
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It is clear that the number of asylum applications from Russia could rise again now that Putin last week a partial mobilization he proclaimed. According to Putin, they will only be called “reservists with relevant combat experience”. The message led to a massive rush of airline tickets and traffic jams to border countries in Russia.
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More than 27 years old
If someone from the new conscript group shows up in the Netherlands, their asylum application is still assessed individually. But the government is keeping a finger on the pulse, the sources say. If the number increases, according to sources in The Hague, “additional measures” may be needed. It is possible that the rules of the previously announced moratorium will then be extended, so that Russian men over the age of 27 also receive special treatment and can stay temporarily in the Netherlands.
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Secretary of State Van der Burg already said on Friday that the Netherlands “certainly” will not send back the Russians who knock on the Dutch door because they do not want to fight in Ukraine. “Because then we at least know that they will be prosecuted there.”
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Has anyone really been called?
VVD MP Ruben Brekelmans does not want an “important separate agreement” to be established in the event that Russian reservists show up at the Ter Apel application center. “I think their applications should be evaluated individually. Is it someone who has actually been summoned? And is he an opponent of the regime? “
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Brekelmans will accept that if the government extends the moratorium, many Russian reservists will come knocking on the IND’s door in the near future. ,, You know there several years in prison stand up. “CDA MP René Peters wants a” quick consultation “with the cabinet on what will happen to this group after the end of the year.
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